Lafayette gets a miracle win at Holy Cross

Jeff Kordenbrock, seen here in a file photo, booted a picture-perfect 43-yard field goal to give Lafayette its first win.

Jeff Kordenbrock, seen here in a file photo, booted a picture-perfect 43-yard field goal to give Lafayette its first win. (Photo courtesy Lafayette College)

Paul Reinhard, Special to The Morning Call

WORCESTER, Mass. — Where’s Al Michaels when you need him?

Remember “Do you believe in miracles?”

Jeff Kordenbrock, who had a frustrating kicking day just a week ago, was given a second chance Saturday afternoon and booted a picture-perfect 43-yard field goal as time ran out and Lafayette tore to shreds its six-game losing streak and shocked Holy Cross on Homecoming Day with a 10-7 victory that also presented coach John Garrett with his first victory as a head coach.

Choose any cliche you want to describe what happened on Fitton Field. They all apply.

This day belonged to the team that just two weeks ago gave up 59 points in one game but on Saturday allowed just one score to the team that knocked off a Football Championship Subdivision Top-10 team a couple of weeks ago by scoring 51 points.

The Lafayette defense broke only once the entire afternoon and turned back the Crusaders on four fourth-down plays.

The last of them came when Coach Tom Gilmore gambled on fourth-and-1 at his own 33, where Lafayette’s outstanding No. 33, Brandon Bryant, and a bunch of his friends stuffed Diquan Walker for no gain.

In the subsequent series Rocco Palumbo, a wide receiver who earlier scored Lafayette’s first touchdown on a fourth-down play, gained nine yards on first down. Two more runs lost two yards, leaving the Leopards with fourth-and-3 at the Crusader 26.

After a timeout, Garrett put the game onto the foot on Kordenbrock, a freshman who missed two field goals last week against Princeton.

Not this time. The snap from Mike Shiffert and hold by Michael Turk set up Kordenbrock’s boot, which was never in doubt.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Kordenbrock said. “Before the game coach Garrett and a couple of players came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to get the final kick at the end of the game to win the game.’ I didn’t think too much about it but as the game kept going on it was like, oh my gosh, it’s going to come down to me.”

Asked whether he had anything to compare to this kick, he said, “Absolutely not; this is the best feeling I ever had in my entire life.”

Garrett said he actually approached Kordenbrock last Sunday after the Eagles won their game on a last-second 61-yard field goal. “We had our team meeting right after that and I went up to him and said ‘You’re going to be our Jake Elliott next week.’”

Garrett held the game ball under his arm but said, “This is really the team’s ball. Every player on both sides of the ball had a hand in this. It feels good to get my first win of the season and first as a head coach, but it’s better for the players. They worked so hard for this and never quit.”

The hiring of Luke Thompson as defensive coordinator paid some big dividends for Lafayette on Saturday.

“It feels so good,” said Bryant, who had nine solo tackles, 15 total, including a sack and a couple others for loss. “Coach Thompson called an amazing game,” Bryant said. “He had us in all the right places we needed to be and everybody executed. All 11 guys executed on every play; it was a great thing to be a part of.”

Holy Cross elected not to go for it on fourth-and-10 on its first possession of the game, but a 43-yard field goal attempt hit the upright.

With the score tied at 7 in the fourth period, Garrett elected not to go for a fourth-and-10 at the Lafayette 40, giving the defense another shot at containing the Crusaders.

Turk hit a 50-yard punt that put Holy Cross at its own 24. Bryant and Mike Root combined for a five-yard loss on second down before the big fourth-down gang-tackling effort ended the final possession for the home team.

Palumbo’s third quarter touchdown came on fourth-and-1 at the Holy Cross 32. “We felt we had to go for it there, and [quarterback] Sean [O’Malley] delivered a perfect pass,” Garrett said.

Palumbo said, “They brought some pressure off the edge, and my right tackle [Gavin Barclay] and right guard [Colin Bradley] and center [Mike Donnelly] all got out there. I just ran behind them. They gave good blocks and I was slowly running behind them. It was wide open and it was all up to them.”

Lafayette finished with only 220 yards, but that was just enough to put them at 1-4 overall.